Sewing-machine feeding mechanism.



PATENTED NOV. 14, 1905 C. If. GRAY. SEWING MACHINE FEEDING MEGHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED MAE.26, 1904.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

INVENTOR ATTORNEY WITNESSES:

t 879mm PATENTED NOV. 14, 1905.

0. F. GRAY.

SEWING MACHINE FEEDING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.26, 1904.

4 SHEETS-SHEBT 2.

No. 804,220. PATENTED NOV. 14, 1905.

O. P. GRAY. SEWING MACHINE FEEDING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.26,1904.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

WITNESSES IN VEN TOR M, I BY A TTORNEY u *rrE STATES PATENT oEEroE.

CHARLES FREDERICK GRAY, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO WHEELER& WILSON MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, ACORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

SEWING-MACHINE FEEDING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Fatented Nov. 14, 1905.

Ap li ation m March 26, 1904. Serial No. 200,184.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES FREDERICK GRAY, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Bridgeport, in the county of Fairfield and State ofConnecticut, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement inSewing-Machine Feeding Mechanisms, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description.

The object of this invention is to provide a sewing-machine in which thefeed of the material is effected conjointly by the needle or needles andan under-feed mechanism.

The invention comprises a combined reciprocating and vibrating needlemechanism and an under-feed mechanism moving lengthwise of the feed ofthe Work substantially as in an ordinary four-motion feed, but having aneedle hole or holes, according to the number of needles employed, thetwo mechanisms connected so as to conjointlyefi'ect the feed of the workwhile the needle is or needles are in the work, all as I will proceednow more particularly to set forth and finally claim.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating the invention, in the severalfigures of which like parts are similarly designated, Figure 1 is a sideelevation, portions of the frame being in section and portions in dottedlines. Fig. 2 is a front elevation on a larger scale, the bed-platebeing in section and portions of the upper works broken away, therelative movements of the needle laterally and the under-feed movementsbeing indicated by the dotted-line positions of these parts. Fig. 3 is atop plan view with portions of the frame and the main shaft in dottedlines. Fig. 4: is a rear elevation, the frame being shown in dottedlines. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of portions of a two-needlevertical-hook machine. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the throat-plate;and Fig. 7 a perspective view of the smooth-face feed-dog for usetherewith, same as in Fig. 5, but detached. Fig. 8 is a perspective viewof a one-needle throat-plate, and Fig. 9 a perspective view of asmoothface feed-dog for use therewith.

The bed-plate 1 and overhanging arm 2 and other parts not specificallymentioned may be of the usual I/Vheeler & Wilson sewing-machine type,and while the invention is herein shown as applied to a Wheeler & Wilsonsewing-machine having a vertical hook and vibrating needle-bar it is notthus limited.

3 is the feed rock-shaft, mounted in suitable bearings under thebed-plate lengthwise thereof, and to this rock-shaft is fixed an arm 4,connected by a rod 5 with a bell-crank lever 6, fixed to a shaft 7,mounted to rock in a bearing 8 on the arm 2. This bell-crank lever isconnected by a rod 9 with an arm 10 on the needle-vibrating gate 11,which is pivoted at 12 and 13 on the end of the arm 2 and carries thereciprocating needle-bar 1 1, having needle 15. The needle-bar isreciprocated by usual means, such as the upper shaft 16, and a link 17,having an eccentric or other usual connection with said shaft, and hencewhile the needle is being reciprocated in a right vertical line it maybe vibrated laterally of the arm 2 substantially in the line of feed ofthe material. The rock-shaft 3 is provided also with an arm 18, to whichis secured the feed-dog carrier 19. This carrier is forked at 21, andthis fork receives a slide-block 22, mounted upon an arm 23, fixed to arock-shaft 24:, mounted in suitable bearings beneath the bed-plate, andsaid rock-shaft 24: is actuated by the engagement of its forked arm 25with the cam 26 on the main driving-shaft 27. By these means theunder-feed mechanism is caused to rise as the needle enters the goodsand moving with the lateral motion ofthe needle advances the materialthe length of a stitch while the needle is in the material and thendrops and recedes to its first position while the needle rises-out ofthe material preparatory to the formation of another stitch.

The rock-shaft 3 is provided at the rear with an arm 28, connected by alink 29 with a block 30, frictionally and slidably mounted upon anarcuate rib 31, projecting from a lever 32, fixed to a short rock-shaft33, mounted in bearings 34 35, depending from the under side of thebed-plate 1 and held in place by a setcollar 36. The lever 32 has afork37, engaging a cam 38 on the main shaft 27. The rib' scribed, it followsthat the rocking motion of shaft 3 is converted into a vibrating motionof the needle-gate, needle-bar, and needle and also imparts thefour-motion feed to the feed-dog. If, therefore, the extent of rockingmotion of the shaft 3 be varied, a corresponding variation in the lengthof vibration of the needle and extent of longitudinal movement of thefeed-dog must follow synchronously. This extent of rocking motion of theshaft 3 is varied by connecting the link 29 by link 39 with an arm 40 onthe rockshaft 41 of the ordinary stitch-regulating lever 42, mounted inthe upright of arm 2, so that as said stitch-regulating lever isvibrated the link 29 will be raised or lowered, as the case may be, andconsequently the block 30 will be shifted lengthwise of the ribrespectively toward or from the center of motion (shaft 33) of the lever32 and the throw of the link 29 and the extent of rocking movement ofshaft 3 diminished or increased accordingly.

The stitch-regulating lever has a stop-finger 4:3 and a stop-shoulder 4Ato cooperate with a fixed stop-pin 45 on the arm 2 to set its range ofmovement. The stop-finger is made adjustable toward and from thestop-shoulder 4:4 by means of a slot 46 in it and a bindingscrew 47,connecting the finger with the lever. By movement, therefore, of thestitch-regulating lever, or, as it is herein termed, thestitch-regulator, both the needle-feed and the under feed, whichcooperate to feed the material as it is being stitched, aresimultaneously adjustable and by movement of a single device and withoutturning any screws.

As thus far described in detail by reference to the drawings theinvention herein is in all essential particulars the same as thatforming the subject of my application, filed March 26, 1904:, Serial No.200,183. To further improve and increase the utility of a combined upperand under feed, I have constructed the under feed to include a feed-dogprovided with a needle hole or holes, depending upon the use of a singleneedle or a plurality of needles, as the production may require, andmade such change in the construction of the throat-plate as wasnecessary to accommodate the application of the desired feed-dog, as isillustrated by Figs. 6 and 8, wherein the slots for the reception of thecloth-actuating surfaces of the complemental feed-dogs illustrated inFigs. 7and 9 are of sufficient length to accommodate the movements ofthe feeddogs when adjusted for their longest feed movements. As shown inFig. 3 the feeddog 20 has a single needle-hole 20 Assiiown in Figs. 5,6, and 7 two needles 48 are used and a three-hole throat-plate 49 and athreepart feed-dog 50. The needle-holes 51 are made in the side membersof said feed-dog. As shown in Figs. 8 and 9 a single feed-dog 53 may beused in a single-slot throat-plate 54 in connection with the maininvention, and, furthermore, a many-pointed three-part feeddog 55, asshown in Fig. 2,'may be used also. In all cases the grip of the feed-dogupon the work while the needles are in the work and in the feed-dogneedle-holes serves to effect the feeding of the work. The needles beingin the feed-dog needle-holes while feeding are thereby prevented frombeing sprung. The presser-foot 52 in the several instances is of thespring-depressed variety, operating substantially as usual, but havingneedleholes to correspond in number with the number of needles used andof a length equal to the length of the longest stitch to permit thelateral movements of the needles in feeding the work.

While the invention is shown as applied to a two-needle and to aone-needle machine, it is to be understood as applicable to a machinehaving any number of needles and provided with a feed-dog having eitherplain or toothed surfaces with needle-holes corresponding to the numberof needles used.

When an under feed alone is used, the work is raised from thethroat-plate and carried by the feed-dog against the friction of theclothpresser, and in case of an upper or needle feed the friction isexerted against the throatplate. In the former instance when two or moreplies of fabric are being sewed there is liability of the upper ply notfeeding as freely as the under ply, and hence the work is imperfect. Inthe needle-- feed the friction is somewhat of an impediment to perfectwork. When, however, the under feed and needlefeed are combined, as inthis invention, there is substantially no friction and the plies willtravel evenly.

What I claim is 1. In a sewing-machine, a combined reciprocating andvibrating needle mechanism, and an under-feed mechanism cooperating toeffect the feed of the work while the needle is in the work, saidunder-feed mechanism including a feed-dog provided with a complementalneedle-hole.

2. In a sewing-machine, a combined reciprocating and vibrating needlemechanism, and an under-feed mechanism cooperating to effect the feedofthe work while the needle is in the work, said needle mechanismincluding a plurality of needles and said under-feed mechanism includinga feed-dog provided with as many needle-holes as there are needles.

3. In a sewing-machine, a needle-bar and needle, means to reciprocatethem vertically, a gate in which the needle-bar is mounted, means tomove said gate transversely to the vertical movements of the needle-bar,a feeddog provided with a needle-hole and means for actuating saidfeed-dog, combined with adjusting means common to both theneedlecarrying gate and feed-dog for conjointly effecting a likeamplitude of feed movement of the needle and feed-dog while the needleis in the material, substantially as described.

4:. In a sewing-machine, a combined reciprocating and vibrating needlemechanism, said needle mechanism includinga plurality of needles, anunder-feed mechanism including a feed-dog provided with as manyneedle-holes as there are needles, said needle mechanism and under-feedmechanism cooperating to effeet the feed of the material While theneedles are in the goods, combined with adjusting means common to boththe needles and feeddog actuating mechanism for conjointly effecting alike amplitude of feed movements of the needles and feed-dog,substantially as described.

5. In a sewing-machine, a needle and means to impart to it reciprocatingand vibrating movements, combined with an under feed mechanism having afeed-dog provided with a needle-hole with which the needle coacts toassist the feed of the material when the feeddog and needle are actuatedto feed the material.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 22d day of March,A. D. 1904.

CHARLES FREDERICK GRAY. Witnesses:

WM. H. NEAVITT, WM. H. FINoKEL.

